Cars 2
by Ash505
Summary: Andrew lives with Mater in Radiator springs. He is cursed and is about to be caught up in an adventure he has never dreamed of.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: McQueen's back

"Ok mister git otta bed you naughty boy!"

I groaned and rolled over. My name is Andrew Skype. I'm a twelve year old orphan in Radiator Springs. Unlike other humans I'm cursed. My curse mark is like lightning bolts and I'm the only human in the world who is cursed. Some people who know recognise me by my fiery red hair and dark olive green eyes. At the moment Mater is getting me out of bed. Trying to.

"No Mater. Go away Mater. Let me sleep Mater" I mumbled.

"GET UP NOW!" Mater hollered.

"Ok I'm up" I answered tumbling out of bed. That's the last time I'm goin' tractor tippin' at night starting right after the next night. I made a mental note to myself.

* * *

In the deserts of Arizona, there's always the chance of getting broken down on the side of the road, even on Route 66. Luckily, there's always a certain rusty tow truck there to help when things get rough.

"Mater – Tow Mater, that's who – is here to help you!" Mater called as he approached a sputtering old car on the side of the road with me holding onto one of his mirrors. The old car's engine choked terribly, making a high-pitched squealing sound when he tried to kick up the power. "Hey Otis!"

"Hey Mater." Otis greeted with a smile, looking a bit sheepish. "I…..oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I thought I could make it this time, but…" He tried revving his engine, only to sputter uselessly. "Smooth like puddin', huh? Eh, who am I kidding? I'll always be a lemon."

"Well dad gum, you leakin' oil again." Mater noted, seeing the puddle of oil on the ground. He moved behind Otis and hooked his tow hook under the smaller car's bumper. "Must be your gaskets. Hey, but look on the bright side: this is your tenth tow this month so that means it's on the house."

"You're the only one that's nice to lemons like me, Mater." Otis said gratefully as Mater began towing him back to Radiator Springs.

"Hey, don't sweat it." Mater assured. "Shoot, these things happen to everybody, Otis."

"But you never leak oil!" Otis pointed out.

"Yeah, but I ain't perfect." Mater shrugged. "Don't tell nobody, but I think mah rust is startin' to show through."

"That's because it always does" I noted causing Mater to laugh.

Otis looked over and spied a billboard that read "Welcome to Radiator Springs: home of Lightning McQueen." "Hey! Is Lightning McQueen back yet?"

"Not yet." Mater said, sounding a little disappointed. He sure did miss Lightning when he went on his racing tours.

"He must be crazy excited about winning his fourth Piston Cup!" Otis guessed, sounding quite excited himself. "Four! Wow!"

"Yeah, we're so dad gum proud of him." Mater said, pride in his tone. "But I sure wish he'd hurry up and git back 'cause we got a whole summer's worth of best friend fun to make up for. Jus' me and—" Mater looked ahead as Radiator Springs came into sight, and he gasped when he saw a familiar red stock car. "McQueen!" He cried happily speeding up and seeming to forget Otis was still attached to him and I was holding his mirror.

"Mater!" Otis yelped. "I'm in no hurry! You don't need to go so fast!"

"Hey everybody! McQueen's back! McQueen's back! McQueen's back! McQueen's back! McQueen's back!" Mater cheered as he sped towards town, bouncing a bit and accidentally dragging Otis across the ground every time he landed and caused sparks.

Lightning who had been talking to the other residents looked up at the sound of a horn honking, and everyone turned to see a familiar tow truck come barrelling up the road. Lightning lit up. "Mater!"

"McQueen!" Mater called excitedly.

"Mater!" Lightning laughed, noticing Mater was hauling a car behind him and me at breakneck speed.

"McQueen!" Mater finally turned and skidded to a halt, the whiplash from his hook sending Otis spinning like crazy right into Ramone's shop and onto a lift and I went crashing in after him.

"Hey, how far did you make it this time, Otis?" Ramone asked.

"Halfway to the county line!" Otis said happily, not looking the least bit upset about his somewhat wild ride.

"Ooh, not bad, man." Ramone complimented.

"I know! I can't believe it either!" Otis said giddily.

After making sure he didn't accidentally smash Otis and me against a wall, Mater turned his attention to Lighting. "McQueen! Welcome back!"

"Mater, it's so good to see you!" Lightning said happily, having missed his best friend while he was gone. I came out of Ramone's shop as the two began their usual "best friend greeting," which usually never stayed the same.

"You too, buddy!" Mater said happily. "Oh man, you ain't gonna believe the things I got planned fer us!"

The townsfolk watched amusedly. It couldn't be denied that Lightning and Mater were definitely the best of friends.

"Oh, these best friend greetings. They get longer every year!" Mack noted with a warm smile as the pair finished their greeting.

"Hey, what happened? No love for me from my favourite racecar now is it? Do you think two can play that game?"

"Hey Andrew." Lightning said happily. "Oh boy did I miss you. Survived that wild ride on Mater I see."

"Yeah didn't get kill but I'm surprised the wheels on my skates didn't get worn out. I've been on wilder ones."

"You ready to have some serious fun?" Mater asked excitedly.

"Well actually, I've got somethin' to show you first." Lightning said.

Lightning led Mater and me to the racing museum and into Doc's wing. Resting near the wall was the Piston Cup trophy Lightning won, only now the trophy read "Hudson Hornet Piston Cup" and featured a small sculpture of Doc on the top.

"Wow!" Mater breathed. "I can't believe they renamed the Piston Cup after our very own Doc Hudson!"

Lightning smiled proudly, but his face fell as he drove to the other wall and stared at the newspaper clippings of Doc in his racing days. "I know Doc said these things were just old cups, but…to have someone else win it just didn't feel right, you know?" He stared sadly at the pictures of his old crew chief.

"Well Doc would've been real proud of ya. That's fer sure." Mater said, making the Lightning smile.

"All right, pal. I've been waiting all summer for this." Lightning said as we exited the museum.

"Oh-ho-ho! You sure you kin handle it?" Mater asked, nudging Lightning playfully.

"Come on, you know who you're talkin' to?" Lightning smirked. "This is Lightning McQueen! I can handle anything!"

"Oh I hate to see what happens" I muttered.

* * *

Plenty happened. First Mater and McQueen took off their tires and went rolling down the old railroad tracks.

"Uh Mater?" Lightning question uncertainty at the top.

"Just remember: yer breaks ain't going to help ya now!" Mater gave McQueen a shove. "Don't worry these tracks ain't been used in years."

I watched them zip down the hill and into the tunnel. Then a loud horn sounded and the pair came out top speed.

"Faster Mater!" McQueen called.

I burst out laughing when I saw they were running away from a small, old train.

Next they snuck up on a sleeping dump truck and tipped it then it backfired and blew them away. I disappeared so they didn't catch me laughing at them. It was hilarious.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The start of a new adventure

That evening, most everyone went up to Wheel Well to celebrate Lightning's return. I followed some time later when I decided it was safe, spying Lightning and Sally talking at one of the tables. I spotted Mater carrying a tray and wearing a bowtie license plate, no doubt pretending to be a waiter to hang out with Lightning some more. I chuckled as I wandered into the Wheel Well building.

"Hey guys." I greeted as I approached Fillmore, Sarge, Luigi, Mater and Guido at the bar. They did not seem to hear me. I looked up, following their gaze to see The Mel Dorado Show on. A green Range Rover with solar panels on his sides and roof was being interviewed, the title card below him labelling the car as Sir Miles Axlerod.

"After seeing allinol in action at the World Grand Prix, nobody will ever go back to gasoline again." Miles stated confidently.

"What happened to the dinosaurs, now?" Mater muttered.

"And on satellite, a World Grand Prix competitor, and one of the fastest cars in the world: Francesco Bernoulli." Mel Dorado introduced. A new figure appeared, this time a red, white, and green Formula One racecar.

"It is an honor, Signore Dorado." Francesco said, apparently live from Rome, Italy. "For you."

"Miles, why not invite Lightning McQueen?" Mel asked, surprising the Radiator Springs' folks.

"Of course we invited him, but apparently after his very long racing season he is taking some time off to rest." Miles explained.

"The Lightning McQueen would not have a chance against Francesco." Francesco boasted. "I can go over three hundred kilometres an hour. In miles, that is like…way faster than McQueen!"

"And Lightning can go three hundred and twenty one kilometres per hour." I droned transferring the miles into kilometres because I had moved here from Australia. Of course I did not hear what was said next until…

"Yeah that Italian feller you got on there can't talk that way about Lightnin' McQueen. He's the bestest racecar in the whole wide world."

I perked up at the sound of Mater's voice on the TV and glanced over to where Mater was once standing. Upon finding a lack of tow truck, me and the rest of the boys turned to see Mater was on the phone nearby.

"Uh oh." Sarge said worriedly. He and everyone else turned their attention to the TV again as Francesco responded.

"If he is, how you say, 'the bestest racecar,' then why must he rest? Huh?" Francesco asked snidely.

"'Cause he knows what's important!" Mater snapped. "Ev'ry now and then he prefers jus' ta slow down, enjoy life."

"Oh! You heard it! Lightning McQueen prefers to be slow!" Francesco laughed, the argument drawing attention from the other Wheel Well patrons. "Of course, this is not news to Francesco. When I want to go to sleep, I watch one of his races. After two laps, I am out cold."

Most of the patrons gasped a bit, murmuring. "That ain't what I meant!" Mater snapped.

"He is afraid of Francesco." Francesco taunted. "That is-a why he does not race. He knows he cannot win so he choose to stay home. This is not new to Francesco either. It is very common to see smaller racecars crumble under the pressure of-a facing me."

"Well let me tell you somethin' else there, Mister San Francisco!" Mater snapped. "McQueen could drive circles around you."

"Driving in-a circles is all he can-a do, no?" Francesco countered.

"No! I mean, yes. I mean, he could beat you anywhere!" Mater insisted. "Any time, any track!"

I caught sight of Lightning staring at us questioningly. Guido gestured to the phone booth, where Mater's back end stuck out.

"Mel, can we move on?" Francesco requested, sounding bored. "Francesco needs a caller who can provide a little more intellectual stimulation, like a dump truck."

"Ha-ha! That shows what you know. Dump trucks is dumb!" Mater laughed. He yelped when somebody grabbed his tow hook and yanked him out of the phone booth.

Lightning drove forward and approached the phone. "Yeah, hi. This is Lightning McQueen."

"The Lightning McQueen, huh?" Francesco looked happy to actually talk to McQueen.

"Look, I don't appreciate my best friend being insulted like that." Lightning said, trying to keep a lid on his anger.

"McQueen, that was your best friend?" Francesco pouted a bit, then smirked. "This is the difference between you and Francesco. Francesco knows how good he is. He does not need to surround himself with tow trucks to prove it."

"Those are strong words from a car that is so fragile." Lightning said with a smirk.

I immediately busted up laughing. "Oh! Crikey!"

"Fragile?! He-a calls Francesco fragile?!" Francesco shouted, his mood doing a complete 180. "Not-a so fast, McQueen!"

"'Not so fast.'" Lightning mused. "What is that, you're new motto?"

"Motto?!" Francesco snapped, beginning to shout in Italian until Mel could shut off the Formula One car's mic.

"Well, this sounds like something that needs to be settled on the race course." Miles noted. "What do you say, Lightning McQueen? We've still got room for one more racer."

"Well, I would love to." Lightning said. "The only thing is my crew is off for the season, so…." He heard the distinct sound of spraying paint, and he looked to the counter to see Ramone painted a quick banner that read "Team Lightning McQueen." Luigi, Sarge, and Fillmore stood ready with smiles. Guido quickly and skilfully popped the corks off some champagne bottles and I smirked.

"Peet stop!" Guido called.

Lightning smirked. "You know what? They just got back. Deal me in, baby. Ka-chow!"

The entire Wheel Well cheered for the racer. Lightning hung up the phone and reversed out.

Lightning looked to Sally as the Porsche approached. "I know, I know, I just got back. But we won't be long—"

"Oh no, don't worry about me." Sally assured. "I've got enough to do here. Mater's going to have a blast, though." She noticed the change in Lightning's expression. "You're bringing Mater, right? You never bring him to any of your races." Lightning and I cast a look towards said tow truck just in time to see him taste a drink only to spit it back in the cup again. We both smirked. "Just let him sit in the pits. Give him a headset. Come on, it will be the thrill of a lifetime for him."

"I can keep an eye on him too." I offered. "He'll listen to me because he knows if he doesn't he may cop the wrench or ice."

"Your drink, sir." Mater said as he came up.

"Mater." Lightning said.

"I didn't taste it!" Mater said hurriedly.

Lightning smiled. "How'd you like to come and see the world with me?"

Mater gasped, smiling broadly. "You mean it?"

"Yeah! You got me into this thing. You're comin' along." Lightning confirmed.

"All right!" Mater cheered.

* * *

The next day, Ramone decked out Lightning with some new racing decals: flame accents, his number 95, and a Hudson Hornet Piston Cup logo painted on his hood. Ramone was also able to paint on the World Grand Prix logo with the American flag and install a set of headlights onto the red stock car. Along with Mater and me, Lightning chose Luigi, Guido, Sarge, and Fillmore to join him as his pit crew. Each of the vehicles received a large sticker shaped like a flame with a number 95 on it, labelling them as Lightning's team. I received a dark blue T-shirt with the sticker printed on the front.

Days later, we boarded a jet and departed for Tokyo, Japan, where the first race would take place. Sheriff, Ramone, Flo, Sally and Red saw us off, with some sobbing on Red's part. The plane ride was comfortable, especially since we were able to get first class seats. I spent much of my time on the flight with Mater and Lightning, asleep or reading. The boys were too distracted watching Japanese game shows the entire flight.

* * *

Upon arriving in Japan, I decided to mostly ride in Mater's flatbed for the sake of not getting run over or lost in the busy streets. Tokyo seemed larger them any other city I had been in. Seemed even larger then Perth in Australia. We spent a few days in Tokyo, getting a look around the area. We went to see a geisha dance, which the rest of the team seemed to enjoy. Mater got a little too into it, getting a strange red and white paintjob along with a wig and paper umbrella. He looked so funny, but I could see Lightning was a bit embarrassed. So we went to a sumo match the next day, which allowed Lightning and Mater to go wild with cheering.

Finally, the night before the race came. Miles Axlerod invited all the competitors and their teams to a major pre-game party celebrating the start of the race. The party setting featured flashing camera lights, a calm yet exciting atmosphere, and plenty of good music. It was hard to hide the excitement as the Radiator Springs team rolled into the large building where the party took place.

"Guido, look!" Luigi looked excited. "Ferraris and tires! Let's go!" The two Italian vehicles sped off in a hurry.

"Look at this!" Lightning breathed, amazed by the beautifully built and decorated building. "Okay now, Mater, remember: best behaviour."

"You got it, buddy." Mater nodded. "Hey, what's that?" He sped off before Lightning could stop him.

"Mater!" Lightning called.

"Don't worry, I'll go keep an eye on him." I assured, skating after Mater.

Mater rolled up to a section of the room blocked off by glass windows. Inside was a smaller vehicle dragging a rake through the sand. Mater tapped his tow hook against the glass, catching the attention of the vehicle and some of the patrons around him. "Hey! You done good. You got all the leaves."

I slap myself in the face. "Mater, he's not raking leaves. I did some researching and it's called rock gardening."

"Oh!" Mater nodded. He looked to the vehicle inside. "Good job!"

"Mater!" Lightning hissed, making Mater and me jump. We began rolling off and away from the glass. "Listen, this isn't Radiator Springs."

"Yer just realizin' that?" Mater asked, surprised. "Oh-ho! That jet lag really done a number on you."

"Mater, look, things are different over here." Lightning explained gently. "Which means maybe you should, you know, act a little different too."

"Different than what?" Mater asked causing me to glare at Lightning.

"Well, just help me out here, buddy." Lightning said. "I—"

"You need help?" Mater perked up. "Shoot! Why didn't you jus' say so? That's what a tow truck does."

Lightning mentally sighed. "Yeah, I mean….."

"Hey, looky there!" Mater gestured to a corner of the room where a familiar Formula One stood. "It's Mister San Francisco! I'll introduce you."

"Mater, no!" Lightning groaned as he was forced to follow Mater up to the platform where Francesco stood. I followed so not lookin' forward to this.

"Look at me. I'm helpin' you already!" Mater said proudly. "Hey Mister San Francisco. I'd like you to meet….."

Francesco turned to see the familiar racecar. "Ah, Lightning McQueen! Buona sera."

Lightning swallowed a bit, but put on a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you, Francesco."

"Nice to meet you too." Francesco said, brushing off the greeting. "You are very good-looking. Not as good as I thought, but you're good. And this must be your cursed friend Andrew Skype" he gestured to me.

"Yes. Nice to meet you" I forced myself not to say that I did not like to be reminded that I was cursed.

"Excuse me. Kin I git a picture with you?" Mater asked Francesco.

"Anything for McQueen's friend." Francesco agreed, allowing Mater to roll up beside him so the pictures could be taken.

"Miss Sally is gonna flip when she sees this!" Mater gushed in his excitement. "She's Lightning McQueen's girlfriend. She's a big fan of yers."

"Hey, she has-a good taste." Francesco smirked.

"Mater's prone to exaggeration." Lightning explained with a smile. "I wouldn't say she's a 'big fan.'"

"Yer right. She's a huge fan!" Mater corrected. "She goes on and on about yer open wheels, here."

"Well, mentioning it once doesn't qualify as going on and on." Lightning protested.

"Francesco is familiar with this reaction to Francesco." Francesco assured. "Women respect a car that has-a nothing to hide."

Lightning faltered a bit at the subtle, backhanded comment.

"Let us have a toast!" Francesco suggested.

"Let's." Lightning agreed.

"I dedicate my win tomorrow to Miss Sally." Francesco said.

"Oh, sorry, I already dedicated my win tomorrow to her." Lightning said a smile still on his face. "So if we both do it it's really not so special. Besides, I don't have a drink."

"Well I go git ya one!" Mater offered, not catching Lightning's point that he kind of wanted to leave. "Hey, you mind if I borrow a few bucks fer one of them drinks?"

"They're free, Mater." Lightning droned.

"Free?" Mater exclaimed. "Well shoot, what am I doin' here?" He turned and sped off, much to my amusement.

Lightning fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I should probably go keep an eye on him. See ya at the race."

"Yes, you will see Francesco." The Italian racecar said, halting Lightning attempt to leave. "But not like this. You will see him like-a this, as he drives away from you." Francesco turned around and showed his bumper to McQueen, where he had stamped stickers that read "Ciao McQueen."

Lightning forced a chuckle. "Hey, that's cute. Did you have one of those made for all the racers?"

Francesco turned to smirk at McQueen. "No."

"Okay." Lightning smirked as he drove off, me skating right beside him.

"Ciao, McQueen!" Francesco called.

Lightning glared. "He is so getting beat tomorrow."

"Oh relax." I waved a hand dismissively. "You could beat him in any race."

"Hey, I thought you said you were gonna keep an eye on Mater." Lightning said.

"I'm sure he'll stay out of trouble. I did not say I was going to 'babysit' him all the time."

"Yeah, but—" Lightning was interrupted by a voice over a speaker system, introducing Sir Miles Axlerod. "Oh! We're starting!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: New friend

"And now, our last competitor." Miles introduced. "Number 95: Lightning McQueen!"

Lightning drove up onto the stage, flashing a headlight and saying his usual "Ka-chow!" He approached Miles and smiled warmly. "Thank you so much for having us, Sir Axlerod. I really look forward to racing. This is a great opportunity."

"Oh, the pleasure is all ours, Lightning." Miles complimented. "You and your team bring excellence and professionalism to this competition."

A sudden scream rang out, bringing the proceedings to a grinding halt. I turned and gasped at the sight of Mater tearing through the crowd, his tongue hanging out as he screamed in pain. He even shot straight up to the platform and to the waterfall behind Lightning and Miles, sticking his tongue underneath the running water. He seemed to calm down considerably after that, but I had to hide my laughter. It looked so funny.

"Whatever you do, do not eat the free pistachio ice cream." Mater said into the microphone, having finally recovered from his moment of panic. "It has turned."

Lightning looked embaressed. "Sir Axlerod, I can explain. This is Mater. He's…"

"No, I know him." Miles assured, still looking surprised but smiling broadly. "This is the bloke that called in to the television show. You're the one I have to thank."

"No, thank you." Mater said graciously. "This trip's been amazin'."

Miles' eyes widened a bit and his face fell at the sight of something wet and inky black suddenly appearing on the floor. "He's a little excited, isn't he?"

"Uh oh." I winced a bit.

"Mater!" Lightning scolded.

"But wait, I….." Mater stumbled a bit over his words. "Oh, shoot."

"Mater." Lightning jerked his hood to one side, gesturing to Mater to follow him down to the bottom of the platform ramp. He glared at the tow truck and whispered in a stern voice. "Mater, you have to get a hold of yourself. You're making a scene!"

"But I never leak oil." Mater protested. "Never."

Lightning glared at Mater. "Go take care of yourself right now!" Mater looked down shamefully as he drove off in a hurry. Lightning caught sight of the look on Miles' face, and he grinned sheepishly.

"I'm going to keep an eye one Mater" I whispered and skated off knowing where Mater had gone.

* * *

I managed to get directions to the bathroom and discovered a set of doors. Knowing Mater would most likely be in there I chose to wait not far from the doors. I didn't know which door was which anyway so I did not want to make the mistake Mater probably did. I heard squealing tires and a loud POP that sounded suspiciously like a gunshot. Then it sounded like someone crashed into a wall. But I guessed it was just Mater trying to get back out to the party fast.

I leaned up against the wall and noticed a purple British Jaguar car moved towards the door, only for it to slam open and almost hit her in the mouth. A tow truck covered from roof to undercarriage in rust shot past.

"'Scuse me, ma'am." The car blinked in surprise, then jumped a bit when Mater backfired and I grabbed his side mirror. "Dad gum pistachio ice cream."

"You were the one who ate it" I pointed out.

"Look out, ladies. Mater's fittin' ta get funky." Mater said, swinging his hook around.

"Stop it Mater" I scolded.

The Jaguar drove after us, smiling warmly at us. "Hello."

"Well, hello." Mater greeted.

"A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia has no radiator."

"Well of course it doesn't." Mater said, sounding as though the answer were obvious. "That's 'cause it's air-cooled."

"Well it was air-cooled last I knew" I joked.

"Perfect." The Jaguar sighed in relief. "Erm….I'm from the Tokyo Station….."

"'Course, Karmann Ghias weren't the only ones." Mater mused, still on the subjects of the Volkswagens. "Besides the Beetles, you had yer Type 3 Squarebacks with the Pancake motors."

"Yeah, okay. I get it." The car nodded seeming eager to move on.

"And before both of them there's the Type 2 buses." Mater continued. "My buddy Fillmore's one of them."

"Listen!" the car piped up, trying to be polite but firm. "Erm…..we should find somewhere more private."

Mater was stunned for a moment. The woman clearly did not beat around the bush. "Gee, don't you think that's a little…?"

"Yeah, you're right." The British Jaguar agreed. "Impossible to know which areas here are compromised. So when can I see you again?"

Mater had tried to focus on the whole "compromised areas" thing, but he perked up when the Jaguar asked to see him again. "Well, let's see. Tomorrow I'll be out there at the races. So will my mate."

"Got it." Holley nodded. "We'll rendezvous then."

* * *

We caught sight of Lightning, Luigi, Guido, Sarge, and Fillmore near the doors, ready to leave to return to the hotel. "Hey guys!"

"There you are. Where have you been?" Lightning asked, confused at the look on Mater's face.

"What's a 'rendezvous'?" Mater asked, a slightly dreamy tone coming to his voice.

"Er…it's like a date." Luigi explained.

"A date?" Mater asked, shocked at first but quickly growing excited.

"Mater, what's going on?" Lightning asked, chuckling a bit. It was clear he wasn't too angry anymore about what happened earlier.

"Well what's goin' on is I got me a date tomorrow." Mater smiled proudly.

"Non ci credo." Guido said, crossing his forks.

"Guido don't believe you." Luigi translated with a similar deadpan look.

"Well believe it." Mater said. "My new girlfriend jus' said so. Hey, there she is. Hey! Hey, lady!" Everyone followed Mater's gaze to a sleek purple Jaguar across the room. "See ye tomorrah!"

"Non ci credo." Guido repeated.

"Guido still don't believe you." Luigi translated.

"Crikey, Mater." I laughed. "Should have known they won't believe you."

"Well I'll keep that in mind when you come tell us you have a girlfriend."

"I am NEVER getting a girlfriend!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Troubles

The night of the World Grand Prix inaugural running finally arrived.

I had never seen so many racers from around the world. The course itself was certainly unlike any of the circular tracks we saw Lightning race in the past: technical turns, round-the-house racetrack layout, and even sections of dirt track all in one setting. Most of the racers' pit crews had a mix of vehicles and humans. As the racers took their positions onto the track, I climbed up to perch on Mater's flatbed in the pits.

The starting lights began flashing red before switching to green, and the racers took off!

The crews in the pits kept close watch on their racers, the chiefs calling out to them now and then. Soon, they couldn't even see the racers and had to stare at a TV screen to mark their progress.

"Your suspension sets look good." Sarge noted.

"Tire pressure is excellent!" Luigi added.

"He's got plenty of fuel." Fillmore said.

"And he's awesome." Mater finished.

Lightning smirked.

"All right, Lighting, let's show 'em how it's done Radiator Springs' lightning storm style." I cheered.

Back on the track, Mater and I watched the race from the monitors inside the pits. Though Francesco built up an early lead, the racers were coming up on the dirt track.

"McQueen, it's time ta make yer move!" Mater spoke into the headset. "Git on the outside and show 'em what Doc done taught ya."

"Ten-four, Mater." Lightning replied. Me and Mater watched huge smiles while Lightning executed a perfect drift, shooting past Francesco as the Formula One struggled on the slippery dirt. Lightning shot around the turns with ease, not losing a bit of speed as he raced down the track.

"Nice call, Mater. Keep it up!" Lightning said, sounding proud and thankful.

I kept my eyes on the screen as the racers came to the 360-degree loop on the Rainbow Bridge.

* * *

I nicked it for a bit part way into the race because I thought I felt a headache starting to come on. It didn't take long to go away so I chalked it up to suddenly having to where a headset again or my curse mark had sensed something was going to happen.

I opened the door to the exit to get away from the pits and noise for a few minutes and gasped in surprise to see a silvery-blue Aston Martin in the garage, holding a fire extinguisher in one of his tires. "Hey! What're you doing in here?"

"Get back, now!" The Aston Martin hissed.

"You're not supposed to be in—" I gasped again when the door to the garage opened, revealing a blue and a green Pacer just outside. The Aston Martin turned his attention to the lemon cars, aiming the fire extinguisher he held towards them.

"Finn McMissile?" the green Pacer gasped. "But you're dead!"

"Then this shouldn't hurt at all." The Aston Martin, who was apparently Finn McMissile, said right before he shot both of the cars in their windshields with the fire extinguisher. I suddenly felt something wrap around my arm and noticed a sort of grappling hook come from the Aston Martin and grab onto me. I yelped when he suddenly drove off, dragging me behind him.

"Sorry about this!" Finn called.

"About what? What in the world is going…?" I asked a split-second before the grappling hook line jerked me forward and I tumbled into Finn's open trunk. He slammed it shut again and sped off.

Once Finn realized the cars weren't chasing him where ever we where, he paused. I could hear everything that was said. "Miss Shiftwell?"

"I've got him in the back alleys east of the garages." Miss Shiftwell informed. "Multiple assailants are closing in quickly."

"Keep him moving! I'm on my way." Finn moved again. He opened his trunk and allowed me to tumble out.

"Why did you—" I growled noticing that we were on the roof tops.

"Listen to me." Finn said quickly, silencing me. "I need you to stay down and stay quiet. Don't go down there until the danger has passed." He spoke so quickly I barely had time to react before the Aston Martin shot another grappling hook and line, using it to pass over to the building across the alleyway. I carefully moved to the edge of the building and stared down, blinking in surprise at a familiar face.

"Mater?" I breathed, wondering what the tow truck could be doing out of the pits. Then I saw a car sneaking after Mater, and just by looking I could tell he wasn't very friendly. But when the car tried to follow Mater, Finn snagged one of his grappling hooks around a refrigerator outside a flower shop and pulled it down. The resounding crash not only stopped the car, it woke up the Japanese shop owners who began advancing on the poor car.

He's keeping them away from Mater. But why? I muddled over my thoughts.

Finn smirked at his handiwork, using his hooks to lower himself down before moving to find the tow truck. But he paused and suddenly reversed at the sight of another Pacer shooting towards him. He couldn't reverse fast enough and the smaller car rammed into him, forcing him back even farther. Finn skidded to a halt. Two more cars were already there waiting for him, blocking his escape routes. He swung himself around and clipped one of the cars before two of them slammed into his sides, the third one pushing him from behind. Despite Finn's best efforts to stop himself, the three cars began forcefully shoving him down an alleyway and towards Acer, armed with a powerful flamethrower.

"This time, I'm gonna make sure you stay dead!" Acer growled, firing up the flamethrower.

I watched the scene with wide eyes. Whoever this Finn McMissile could be I still felt concern for his safety. He did seem to be helping Mater. I glanced down at the cars below, the flames getting closer and closer to Finn. If I didn't move now, he could die.

I dropped down in front of the cars and activated my curse mark. Holding my hands out in front of me and aimed at the cars on either side of Finn and let out a spray of ice blocking out their vision then dove out the way.

Finn activated the magnets on one of his tires, grabbing the Pacer and throwing him across the alley and into an elevator. Drawing his gun, Finn shot the cables powering the elevator and sent the metal platform shooting up, crushing the Pacer between the elevator floor and the ceiling. Finn spun around as the second car shot towards him, but he jumped up to avoid the car and ricocheted off the wall. A car slammed into the wall, and Finn shot the cables of the elevator again to make it fall back down on top of his final attacker.

Once the danger finally passed, I allowed my curse mark to deactivate. Finn was panting beside me, winding down from the adrenaline rush. I eyed the gun at his side suspiciously as he put it away.

"Kin I git yer autograph?"

Me and Finn jumped a bit, spinning around to see Mater just at the entrance of the alley.

"Mater." I sighed in relief.

"Hey Andrew! That was awesome!" Mater said excitedly.

Cars began streaming from the buildings around us, a large group investigating the elevator and two damaged cars. The silvery-blue Aston Martin had disappeared. We looked around, but couldn't find the car anywhere in the crowd.

"Come on, Andrew!" Mater called. "Let's git back ta the race!"

* * *

Both Mater and I were surprised to find the pits empty and the track mostly dark.

"Ah man. Don't tell me we missed the race." I groaned.

"Well that can't be right." Mater murmured.

"Mater!"

The tow truck and I turned to see a familiar red stock car.

"Hey, McQueen!" Mater greeted warmly. "What happened? Is the race over? You won, right?"

"Mater, why were you yelling things at me while I was racing?" Lightning demanded.

This is not going to go well. I thought.

"Yellin'?" Mater repeated. "Oh, you thought…..that's funny right dere. No, see that's 'cause I seen these two fellers doin' some sort of karate street performance. It was nutso. One of 'em even had a flamethrower….."

"A flamethrower?" Lightning repeated, confused. "What are you talking about? I don't understand. Where were you?"

"Goin' ta meet my date." Mater replied simply.

"Your date?" Lightning asked.

"Uh, Mater…." I tried to warn the tow truck. I knew after what we just witnessed, Mater's story was not going to sound very convincing. Unfortunately, the tow truck didn't catch on.

"She started talkin' to me as a voice in my head, tellin' me where to go." Mater said casually.

"Andrew, where were you during all this?" Lightning demanded.

"I got a headache and some guy was in the pits and I had to get him out." I finally admitted. "I ended up getting dragged down the street a ways before I could get back. I'm fine."

"My date was talkin' ta me in mah head." Mater shrugged. "I ended up missin' the date but I think she's still up for it."

"What?!" Lightning asked, sounding completely baffled.

Mater blinked. "Wait a minute. I didn't screw ya up, did I?"

Lightning glared. "I lost the race because of you!"

Mater's cheerful expression dropped. "Oh…..I'm sorry…I didn't mean to."

"Imaginary girlfriend? Flamethrowers?" Lightning scoffed, stammering a bit. "This is exactly why I don't bring you along to these things."

"Maybe if I….I don't know…talk to somebody and explained what happened, I could help." Mater offered.

"I don't need your help!" Lightning snapped. "I don't want your help."

Mater stared at Lightning, crushing hurt written all over his expression. The racer drove around past Mater and out to the track. Me and Mater peered out to see a group of reporters gather around Lightning, asking about what happened during the race.

"I made a mistake." Lightning told the reporters. "But I can assure you, it won't happen again." More chatter from the reporters. "Look, guys, we know what the problem is and we've taken care of it."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Strange happenings

Mater stared sadly at the poster for the World Grand Prix, depicting Lightning McQueen and his team. Mater refused to look at me as he drove off towards the terminals, with me holding onto one of his mirrors to pull me along. The flame-shaped, 95 sticker that used to rest on Mater's side was now gone and the stickers back at the hotel. I had changed back into my usual black T-shirt and shoved the racing one in my back pack.

How do things like this happen? I thought as we traveled through the airport.

As Mater and I approached the security gates, something very strange happened.

"Kochira e, dozo." A police car said as he rolled up beside Mater. "Come with me, please, sir."

"But I'm 'onna miss my plane." Mater protested as he followed the police car.

"Right this way." The police car said simply, leading us to a lounge-like area further into the airport.

"Ah doggone it." Mater groaned. "This is about my hook, ain't it? I know I shoulda checked it, but I can't, really. Look, it's attached to me."

I could see we were heading towards a pretty secluded and quiet area. It seemed like a good place to be confronted. As we entered the lounge area, away from most of the patrons at a nearby bar, the police car's form flickered and changed to reveal a familiar Aston Martin.

"You again! What do you want?" I snapped.

"Hey, I know you!" Mater realized. "Yer that feller from the karate demonstration."

"I never properly introduced myself." Finn said. "Finn McMissile. British Intelligence."

"Tow Mater." Mater greeted. "Average intelligence."

"Andrew Skype." I gave a crisp nod.

"Who are you two with?" Finn asked with a smirk. "FBI? CIA?"

"Let's just say I'm triple-A affiliated." Mater replied. "You know, I know some karate. I don't wanna brag or nuttin', but I got me a black fan belt. Hey you wanna see some moves I made up?"

Finn looked nothing short of amused, but a beeping on his mirror caught his attention. "You're being followed."

"What? Where?" I looked back, searching for any cars we might've seen while in the airport. Mater didn't seem to hear, demonstrating how he could reach into a car's hood, pull out his battery, and show it to him before he stalls; aka, what Mater accidentally did to Luigi once. Meanwhile, I watched in amazement as Finn launched some sort of device from one of his mirrors and stuck it to the nearby window. A sort of antennae shot out, beginning to carve a good-sized hole in the glass.

"Oh wow, look I probably ought to go. I'm about to miss my flight." Mater turned and started to drive off.

"Don't worry. I've taken care of that." Finn assured, throwing one of his back grappling hooks and latching it to Mater's tow hook. "Hang on!" Finn warned, engine revving. I jumped into Mater's flatbed just as Finn suddenly jumped out the window. I gasped, hugging Mater's tow cable, and grunted a bit when they hit the ground. Finn sped off, dragging Mater behind him.

"This is first-class service!" Mater said with a grin. "You don' even have to go through the terminal!" He looked around as Finn pulled him under jets and across the tarmac, suddenly spying two familiar figures right behind them. "Yer karate partners is back here! It kinda look like they tryin' ta catch up!"

"Drive forward!" Finn ordered. "Whatever you do, don't stop!" He suddenly braked, forcing him and Mater to do a 180 and cause Mater to drag him. I flinched as we drove straight under a jet taxiing into the airport. I looked to Finn and then to the rusted red Gremlin coming right behind them. To me shock, the Gremlin suddenly pulled a good-size missile launcher from his undercarriage. Finn let loose a small, skateboard-like object that rolled to skate just under Grem. A small scissor lift mechanism activated, forcing Grem on two wheels. He struggled to regain his balance, only to tumble over to his roof right after launching the missile. Finn took aim and shot one of his own, smaller missiles, the two explosives colliding and erupting into fire and smoke.

"Is everything okay back there?" Mater asked as he kept driving.

"Yes!" I called hurriedly.

Mater nodded to my request, but noticed Acer was driving right into his path and dragging a long line of carts behind him. "You 'member that whole thing about me not stoppin' no matter what?"

I stood up to look over Mater's roof and paled at the sight. Oh great. What next? I jumped at the sound of guns firing, and suddenly the carts exploded to give Mater and Finn a clear shot right through. I gasped, staring in shock at the jet plane flying over quite close to them.

"Thanks, old boy!" Finn called to the jet.

"You got it, mate!" The jet called back as he landed in front of Mater, driving down the tarmac and lowering his ramp.

"Hey, doggonit!" Mater exclaimed happily as he caught sight of a purple Jaguar resting just inside the jet. "Look, it's my imaginary girlfriend!"

"Come on! Get in here!" Holley shouted.

"Boy, I tell you what, you really do want this first date, don't ya?" Mater asked, oblivious to Holley's dumbfounded reaction. "That's a no-quit attitude right dere!"

"MATER, KNOCK IT OFF!" I shouted as bullets pierced the ground dangerously close to Mater. The gunfire missed Mater, Finn and me, but several of the bullets pierced the jet's wheels and forced him to make a turn into the grass and onto another section of tarmac.

"Hold on, Sid!" Finn called.

I jumped a bit as more gunfire rang out, and I stared worriedly at the green Pacer still close behind us. The car continued to shoot at them, and I ducked down as a couple bullets whizzed past my head. Finn unloaded his own gun and shot several rounds, popping Acer's front tire and forcing him to careen off to one side, screaming all the way.

The jet, Siddeley, looked ahead to see the gate and the edge of the airport grounds just ahead. "Come on, Finn! It's now or never!"

Finn took a sharp turn, jerking Mater behind him and dragging us aboard the jet. Mater ended up hanging off the edge of the ramp as Siddeley lifted up and took off into the sky. Finn was quick to reel the tow truck in, Siddeley closing the ramp and disappearing into the clouds. The Aston Martin sighed in relief, pulling in his grappling hook.

I grinned as I jumped out of Mater. "Well what do you know? That was actually fun!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: In a Spy World

"Now that's how I like to start the day." Finn said as everyone relaxed in the main room inside Siddeley. "You never feel more alive than when you're almost dead."

"Yeah." Holley clearly didn't seem to think so. "I hope that device didn't fall off." She pressed a button on her chair, spinning Mater's chair around and lowering the back to see a small metal device implanted just above his tailpipe.

"That's the closest I ever been to missin' my flight." Mater chuckled. "That was—oh!" He yelepd at a sharp pain in his undercarriage, where Holley pulled the device off. I winced in sympathy.

"Still in one piece. Great." Holley nodded in satisfaction, moving her chair back to the large computer system in the room and inserting the device.

"Boy, I've gotta go to a doctor." Mater groaned as he spun his chair back around. "I keep gettin' these sharp pains in mah undercarriage."

"Downloading the photo now." Holley reported, not exactly paying attention to Mater's talk.

"Let me introduce you guys." Mater said with a wide smile. "This here is Finn McSomethin' or other. He's first-class, VIP airport whatchamacallits. And Finn, this here is my date." Mater paused. "I never did git yer name."

"Oh yes, sorry." Holley nodded. "It's Shiftwell. Holley Shiftwell." Finn grinned, managing to hold back his laughter.

"It's Shiftwell." Mater repeated. "Holley—" He paused when a strange device poppd out from the ceiling, sliding over and creating a holographic screen across the room, Mater and me on one side and Finn and Holley on the other. The shades lowered over the windows, with only the screen casting a soft green glow around the room.

"Finally." Finn sighed. "Time to see who's behind all this." But when the picture popped up, the two cars in the room were surprised to see not a full picture of a car but rather a photo of an open hood and car engine, surrounded by spare parts.

"What is this?" Holley finally asked.

"Well, that's one of the worst engines ever made." Mater said, turning his front half to one side to better look at the picture. Finn and Holley did the same. Holley used her mouse pad on her chair to turn the photo around for everyone to look at better.

I wrinkled my nose. "Yeesh. I'm with you Mater. What kind of engine is it?"

"It's an old aluminum V8 with a Lucas electrical system and Whitworth bolts." Mater explained. "Shoot, them Whitworth bolts is a pain, tell you what. Them ain't metric, they ain't inches."

"Yes, okay, right. But whose engine is this, Mater?" Holley asked.

"Well it's kinda hard to tell from this picture, ain't it?" Mater pointed out.

"But you're the one who took it." Holley countered.

"Holley." Finn scolded gently.

"Oh, right! Yes, of course." Holley nodded in understanding. "A good agent gets what he can, then gets out before he's killed. Sorry."

"Killed?" I blinked.

"Agent? You mean, like insurance agent?" Mater asked. "Like...'like a good neighbour, Mater is there!'" Mater's face lit up. "Wait! You mean secret agents! You guys is spies!"

"Awesome!"

Finn went serious, looking to the photo. "Holley, in how many makes and models did this type of engine appear?"

Holley did a quick search. "It was standard in seven models over a twelve-year period. At least thirty-five thousand cars were made with this engine."

Mater found the controls to his chair and moved forward to push through the screen and smile at Holley. "You're purty."

"Yes, all right, thank you." Holley nodded dismissively.

"And so nice." Mater sighed dreamily.

"Just pay attention!" Holley urged, pulling the screen forward to block off Mater. She ended up having to move the picture of the engine all over the screen to block Mater's sight before enlarging the photo to block him off completely.

"This seems like a dead end." Finn murmured. "If there was something in the photo that could narrow this down a bit, I'd be a lot happier."

Mater managed to get around the photo to look to Finn. "You might not be happy, but I bet this feller is. See how he's had most of his parts replaced? And see all them boxes over there? Them's all original parts. They ain't easy to come by."

"I've never seen some of those parts before" I noted.

"Rare parts?" Holley clarified.

"That's something we can track." Finn realized.

The screen and the picture disappeared and the shades rolled up to let the sunlight in.

Finn looked to me and Mater. "Well done, you two. I would have never seen that. I know of a black market parts dealer in Paris, a treacherous lowlife. But he's the only one in the world who can tell us whose engine this is. Mater, Andrew, what would you say to setting up an informal task force on this one?"

"Wait. What?" Mater asked.

"You obviously have plenty of experience in the field." Finn reasoned.

"Well yeah, I live right next to one." Mater shrugged.

"And Andrew, we could use your brain and brawn for this." Finn offered. "I'd hate to be the sorry bloke at the other end of that ice weapon of yours."

I chuckled glad Finn did not know how I really did the ice. "Yeah, I guess. Sounds like fun."

Mater's face fell. "I don't know, Finn. I ain't exactly been much help to anybody recently."

"You're helping me." Finn assured. "Please, Mater."

I nudged Mater with my elbow. "It'll be a lot more fun than goin' home early. And we might be a help instead of a nuisance."

"Well...okay." Mater finally agreed, feeling a lot happier now that he was actually doing something good for someone else. Mater looked to Finn. "But you know I'm just a tow truck, right?"

"Right. And I'm just in the import-export business." Finn said with a wink, rolling his chair back to the computers. "Siddeley?"

"Yes, Finn?" Siddeley asked.

"Paris." Finn said. "Tout de suite."

"Yeah, two of them sweets for me too, Sid." Mater said before looking to Holley. "You know, I always wanted to be a spy."

"Really?" Holley asked with a smile. "Me too."

"Afterburners, sir?" Siddeley asked with a smile.

"Is there any other way?" Finn replied, smirking.

"Afterburners?" I asked, confused. I yelped a bit when Siddeley suddenly shot off, jerking me off my feet and to the ground.

* * *

Arriving in Paris, Finn led the way as the quintet maneuvered through the city. My skates allowed me to keep up with the veicles. Mater often fell behind and became forced to hurry to catch up with us. I didn't blame him; Paris was truly amazing. I ended up hanging onto Finn with one hand so I could keep up with the spies because Mater fell too far behind.

Finn finally led everyone to a somewhat shadier part of the city, traveling down some back alleyways while giving instructions.

"Once we're inside, stay close." Finn instructed. "Don't bother checking VIN numbers for criminal records. They're all dodgy here."

"No VIN scans, got it." Holley nodded.

"Skype, I want you two either beside me or Miss Shiftwell." Finn told me. "Don't want to lose you."

"Righto."

"That's the ticket." Finn nodded. "Now, don't talk to anyone, don't look at anyone, and absolutely, positively no idling. Are we clear?"

"Yes, right. No idling. Yes sir." Holley nodded.

Finn turned around. "Mater?"

"Yeah Finn?" Mater asked from behind a garbage bin.

"We're not here to go shopping." Finn said as they rounded the corner into the black market.

"Shoppin'?" Mater asked. "What do you mean? Why woul I...?" He paused when he saw the market. "Dad gum!" He hurriedly drove after us, but couldn't help staring at everything around him. Various shop owners, with their merchandise laid out on blankets and towels, shouted their wares. Driving into the building nearby, even more vendors sat crammed together with their merchandise strewn about their areas.

Finn rounded the corner, but froze and suddenly reversed again. He parked himself just around the corner, Holley and me staring worriedly. Finn angled his mirror to see a small, dark blue Reliant Regal three-wheeler.

"There you are." Finn murmured.

"We found him?" I whispered.

"Man, there is some great bargains here!" Mater said rather loudly as he came up.

"Mater, get back!" Finn hissed. Mater quickly obeyed, but not fast enough it would seem. Finn heard the squealing of tires, and he shot out from around the corner to give a chase. Holley, and Mater followed Finn. I held tight to Mater. Our target rammed into a pole, causing a pile of debris to fall right in their path, but Finn shot off a sheet of metal like a ramp, flying over the blockage and continuing after the three-wheeled car. Holley and Mater took a sharp left turn to go around the debris. Finn sped up.

Suddenly, Holley appeared in the blue car's path. The car tried to turn but ended up taking a tumble and flying right over Holley before crashing into someone's tire stall. Holley rolled over and pulled a taser from her hubcap, shooting the three-wheeled car with it until Finn suddenly shot past and jerked the lines off.

"Have you lost your mind?" Finn growled.

Holley blinked in surprise. "But I thought—" Holley started.

"Mater!" Finn called to the tow truck as he and I came up to the three-wheeled. "This chap needs a tow. Hook him up."

"Well sure thing!" Mater nodded, hooking his tow cable under the dark blue car's bumper. Everyone followed Finn deeper into the marketplace, ignoring the three-wheeled car's indignant shouts.

Finn found a garage nearby and rolled inside, snapping in French at the car already in the garage. The car took off, allowing the spies, me and Mater to enter. Mater waited until Finn shut the door to the garage to give us privacy before letting the three-wheeled car down.

The dark blue vehicle shouted a bit in French and then spun around to Finn. "Electroshock?! Are you kidding me?"

"Easy, Tomber." Finn said calmly. "This is Shiftwell's first field assignment. She didn't know you were my informant."

"Informant?" Holley repeated.

"A rookie, huh?" Tomber turned to sneer at Holley. "I never liked new car smell."

Holley was silent, casting a glare.

"Tomber was doing twenty to life in a Moroccan impound the first time I saved him." Finn explained, smiling at the memory. "If I recall correctly."

Tomber smirked. "Speaking of recalls, you're getting up there in mileage, aren't you Finn?"

Holley rolled her eyes. "All right, we get it. You both know each other, you're both old." She activated her holographic computer, pulling up the picture. "So, here you go, informant. Inform us."

Tomber took a look of the photograph. "Beuck! That is the worst motor ever made."

"We know" I nodded.

Tomber looked to the rest of the picture and his eyes widened. "Wait. That oil filter. Those wheel bearings."

"Do those parts look famliar, Tomber?" Finn asked.

"They should." Tomber nodded. "I sold them."

"To whom?" Holley asked.

"No idea." Tomber admitted. "He's my best customer, but he always does his business over the phone. I was always wondering why he needs so many parts. Now I know."

"Well, a lemon needs parts." Mater noted, to which Tomber nodded in agreement. "Ain't nothin' truer than that."

"Lemon?" Finn asked, confused.

"You know, cars that don't ever work right." Mater explained. "Lemons is a tow truck's bread and butter. Like 'em Gremlins and Pacers we run into at the party and the race and the airport."

Something suddenly clicked in Finn's head. "Holley, pull up the pictures from the oil platform." He ordered. "I want to know what other types of cars were out there."

Holley obeyed, scanning the pictures Finn's camera took. "Right. Let's see. Um, there were Hugos and Trunkovs."

"Mater, Andrew are these cars considered lemons?" Finn asked.

"Is the Popemobile Catholic?" Mater asked, confirming it.

Holley blinked in realization. "Finn, everyone involved in this plot is one of history's biggest loser cars."

"And they're all taking their oders from the car behind this engine." Finn realized, looking to the picture of the engine.

"Ah, this explains it!" Tomber said suddenly.

"What, Tomber?" Finn asked.

"Gremlin, Pacer, Hugo, and Trunkov never get together, but they are having a secret meeting in two days." Tomber explained.

"Where's this meeting taking place?" Finn asked.

"Porto Corsa, Italy." Tomber replied.

"That's where the next race is!" Mater realized.

"Then there's a good chance our mystery engine will be there, too." Finn guessed.

"Your chances are more than good." Tomber confirmed. "I just sent him a new clutch assembly yesterday. To Porto Corsa."

"Holley, contact Stephenson and have him meet us at Gare de Lyon." Finn ordered with a grin. "Good work." He told Tomber.

"This is getting exciting" I noted.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Truth behind the mark

As Stephenson, a bullet train, sped down the tracks towards Porto Corsa, everyone gathered around the main computers inside to analyze footage Holley was able to get of our targeted lemons.

"Boy, I'll tell you what, that three-wheeled feller had to be right about a big meetin'." Mater noted as we watched a couple well-guarded lemon models drive down the street, surrounded by black painted versions of the cars. "You never see this many lemons in one town.'Less there's a swap meet, or somethin'. Hey how'd you get all them pictures?"

"Well, I remotely programmed Porto Corsa's red light cameras to do recognitions scans." Holley explained, sounding proud.

"Wow." Mater breathed. "Not only is you the purtiest car I ever met, but you the smartest too."

"Thank you." Holley said. "I think."

"That's a familar sight." Mater noted as we turned our attention to the cameras again. "A Hugo bein' towed. But he looks absolutley perfect!"

"Of course." Finn realized. "They must be the heads of the lemon families."

"Makes sense." Mater mused. "If I was rich and broke down every day, I'd hire me to tow me around all the time too."

"We've got to infiltrate that meeting." Finn decided. "It's the only way to find out who's behind all this."

Holley looked to Mater and smiled. "Hang on a minute. Hold still." She suddenly snappd a picture of Mater, the flash nearly blinding him, and she inserted the picture into the computer. With a few quick edits, Holley was able to take Mater's face and put it over the tow trucks in the picture.

Finn grinned. "Good job, Miss Shiftwell."

"Thank you, Finn." Holley said proudly.

"The rest of us will standby in case he needs backup" Finn told me.

* * *

While Holley prepared the disguise program, everyone lounged about the train. Mater watched Holley work, seeing how she would have to make modifications to the tow truck to create the disguise. Finn analyzed the building where the meeting would take place.

"Finn, one hour to Porto Corsa." Stephenson reported.

"Thank you, Stephenson." Finn said.

"That should just about do it." Holley said as she finished her work on Mater.

"Perfect." Finn nodded.

"So, Mater, it's voice-activated." Holley explained. "But, you know, everything's voice-activated these days."

"What? I thought you was supposed to be makin' me a disguise." Mater said.

"Voice recognized." A woman's voice over the computer said. "Disguise program initiated."

A light passed over Mater, making him look like the Hugo's tow truck. He laughed. "Cool! Hey computer, make me a German truck!"

"Request acknowledged." The computer said, changing Mater's disguise.

"Check it out!" Mater smiled broadly. "I'm wearing Materhosen. Make me a monster truck!" But when the disguise set in, Mater found himself looking more like Count Dracula than a giant-wheeled truck. "What the...?" Mater laughed, speaking in a Transylvanian accent. "I vant to siphon your gas!" He laughed again, hardly noticing the looks from his friends. Finn smirked, amused, while I was chuckling furiously and Holley just stared. "Now make me a taco truck!" The disguise changed, a horn playing "La Cucaracha." "A funny car!" Mater revved his engine hard, the sound almost making us go deaf until Finn shut off the disguise.

"The idea is to keep a low profile, Mater." Finn said, activating the Hugo's tow truck disguise.

"So I just go in, pretend to be this truck." Mater guessed.

"And leave the rest to us." Finn assured.

"You know. That's a good look for you Mater" I noted.

"Now, hold still." Holley instructed. "First, I have to do the final fitting on your disguise." She clicked a couple things into the computer, but the computer began beeping at her. She glanced to Mater, noticing how his dents were messing with the calibration. "Oh dear, that's no good." She clicked something else, deactivating the disguise and bringing down a tool towards Mater.

"Hey, what're you doin'?" Mater asked, shying away from the tool.

"The disguise won't calibrate effectively without a smooth surface to graft onto." Holley explained.

"Oh, for a second there, I thought you was tryin' to fix mah dents." Mater said.

"Yes, I was." Holley said. Realizing Mater's discomfort, she put the tool away.

"Well then no thank you." Mater said firmly. "I don't get them dents buffed, pulled, filled, or painted by nobody. They weigh too valuable."

"Your dents are valuable? Really?" Holley asked, a bit amazed.

"I come by each one of 'em with my best friend, Lightning McQueen." Mater explained. "I don't fix these. I wanna remember these dents forever."

Holley smiled, still amazed by such dedication. "So, you were being serious in Paris? McQueen isn't just part of your cover."

"Friendships can be dangerous in our line of work, Mater." Finn said solemnly.

"But my line of work is towin' and salvage." Mater protested.

I waited for the reaction. Finn smirked. "Right. And Miss Shiftwell's is designing iPhone apps."

"No, I meant for real, I—" Mater insisted.

"No, it's okay." Holley assured. "Say no more. I'll work around the dent." Mater slumped a bit, but didn't protest anymore.

"In the meantime..." Finn pressed a button on the computer, and the panels on the walls and ceiling flipped to reveal an arsenal of weaponry. "You look a little light on weapons."

I rolled my eyes and nicked it. No way was I going to stick around to see what happened. 'Sides it was getting stuffy in the carriage.

* * *

I reappeared about half hour later. The spies where done with Mater.

"Have fun?"

"Yeah loads" Mater confirmed.

"What with the mark?"

Mater and I jumped and turned to find Finn and Holley behind us. I gave them a curious look.

"Down your arm. The lightning bolt" Finn explained.

"Oh this" I ran my hand down the black outline that ran from my elbow down to my wrist, mentally kicking myself for not putting my jacket back on. "It's my curse mark."

"Your what?" Holley questioned.

"My curse mark" I repeated then explained. "When I was eight my parents moved from Australia to America. A month after we moved a notice came out about kidnappers. I was not allowed to leave the house but one night the kidnappers attacked. My parents were killed and the house was exploded. Most likely as a warning. I was taken for some kind of experiment that went wrong. Only because I accidently knocked something over that formed my curse mark. There were two other children. I was the only survivor. When I escaped I found myself in the desert. Mater found me asleep in the rocks and took me back to Radiator Springs and looked after me. Lived there ever since."

Not wanting to be questioned further I quickly disappeared to find my jacket. I never liked talking about my curse mark.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Fear Takes Hold

Mater watched Holley approach the vehicles doing her best acts of flirtation. By the looks of things, the men were falling for the ruse quite easily.

"Get ready, Mater" Finn said over his radio. "You're on any moment now."

Mater reversed back a bit, looking nervous. "I don't know about this, Finn. What if I screw things up?"

"Impossible." Finn said confidently. "Just apply the same level of dedication you've been using to play the idiot tow truck, and you'll be fine."

"It's just that them guys look purty tough and..." Mater paused. "Wait, did you say 'idiot'? Is that how you see me?"

"That's how everyone sees you." Finn replied, unaware of the impact of his words. "Isn't that the idea? I tell you, that's the genius of it. No one realizes they're being fooled because they're too busy laughing at the fool. Brilliant!"

Mater stared at his reflection in a pair of glass doors. He jumped at the sound of electricity and a thud, turning to see Holley knocking out the Hugo's tow truck.

"Why aren't you in disguise?" Holley demanded.

"I, er..." Mater looked down.

"Come on! There's no time! Go!" Holley urged.

"Okay, okay!" Mater nodded, trying to get himself focused again. "Computer, disguise!"

"Request acknowledged." The disguise came on over Mater.

Mater rolled up beside the Hugo's henchmen.

"It's the boss. He's coming." One of the henchmen announced as a horn honked and a black van pulled up. The back door lowered down, and the front of a Hugo poked out.

"Ivan." The Hugo called. One of the henchmen bumped Mater with a tire encouraging him forward. "Ivan, why do you insult me so by making me wait here?" The Hugo demanded.

Mater didn't respond as he hooked up the smaller car, the henchmen gathering around as they drove into the hotel where the meeting would take place.

Mater gawked as they made their way through the casino. "Whoa! This place looks like it's made outta gold!" The computer-like screen Holley installed in his windshield scanned the poker tables and listed odds of winning.

"That's because it is, Mater." Holley said over Mater's radio. "Now, be careful what you say."

"Why is that?" Mater asked. "What do you mean, 'Don't talk to ya'? So you want me to stop talkin' to you. Right now?"

"You are acting strange today, Ivan." One of the Hugo henchmen noted suspiciously.

Mater glanced to the black car, his windshield giving him information about the Hugo beside him. "I have no idea what yer talkin' about, Alexander Hugo aka Chop Shop Alex. Hey you got a lot of aka's, Alex. But I guess that makes sense, seein's how you's wanted in France, Germany, Czech Republic..."

"Mater, stop it!" Holley called.

"Okay, okay! Keep your voice down! You gonna make me arrested!" Alexander hissed. He turned to the henchman on the other side of Mater. "Don't mess with Ivan today. He is in a bad mood."

Outside, Holley gawked at Mater's actions.

"He's so good." Finn said with a smirk.

Mater continued on to a set of large double doors, pushed open by two forklift waiters. "Victor!" one of the cars inside called, and Mater eyes widened a bit at the sight of all the lemons inside. his windshield identified the other three heads to the lemon families, labelling them as "very dangerous." Mater to continue on into the room, dropping off Victor Hugo on one side of the table before backing up several feet.

"Is the big boss here yet?" Victor Hugo asked.

"No, not yet." Vladimir Trunkov said.

"He's supposed to be here any minute." Tubbs Pacer added, J. Curby Gremlin nodding.

Loud knocking came from the door.

"Here we go." Finn, Holley and I watched the screen closely.

The doors swung open and a small, German microcar rolled forward.

"Guten Tag." The car, who's name I found out was Zündapp, greeted.

"It's just the professor." Pacer groaned, everyone seeming disappointed.

"Zündapp!" Hugo snapped. "When is he coming?"

"He's already here." Zündapp assured, driving to the head of the table as a television screen lowered from the ceiling. The doors were shut again to give the lemons privacy, and the television switched on to reveal the Big Boss. But to our disappointment it was just like the photo Mater used to carry.

"Descramble that voice" Finn ordered.

"I'm tryin'" Holley groaned as she used her computer to try and make out the talk without any success.

Three more TV screens lowered down, switching on to show the World Grand Prix race just as Brazilian racecar Carla Veloso flamed out and crashed into the railing of the casino bridge.

Out on our vantage point, even Finn, Holley, and I were shocked.

"What just happened?" Finn demanded.

"I'm working on it." Holley said, quickly scanning through her computer filters as she analysed the crash.

The lemons cheered for the crash, as though seeing the racer getting hurt was like a good joke. On the screens, yet another racecar flamed out and ended up crashing into a wall as well. This car, Nigel Gearsley, desperately tried to stop but couldn't prevent his impact.

Finn was quickly growing impatient. "Holley!"

"I'm detecting an extremely strong electromagnetic pulse." Holley finally reported, following the pulse's trajectory to its source. Her eyes widened. "Finn, it's the camera!"

"Where?" Finn demanded.

"On the tower!" Holley said quickly. Finn turned and sped off.

Japanese racer Shu Todoroki flamed out and began skidding across the track. The racer behind him desperately tried to stop, only to crash into Shu and send both of them skidding across the track. A third racer crashed into the two cars. Then two more. Thankfully, the last two racers skidded to a halt before they could crash into anyone.

Lightning and Francesco were the only ones that speed across the finish line, unaware of the major crash that happened behind them.

Soon, all the TVs began to show several reporters approaching Miles Axlerod, who looked mortified at the sight of the race's outcome.

"Sir Axlerod, is the final race in London still going to take place?" A reporter asked.

"I suppose that..." Miles sighed. "Look, the show must go on, as they say. But now is not the time to talk about it."

"Will you require all the racers to still run on allinol?" a reporter asked.

"I cannot, in good conscience, continue to risk the lives of any more racecars." Miles said. "The final race will not be run on allinol."

"Andrew stay" Holley ordered and sped off.

I turned on my radio to hear anything that was said.

"Mater abort the mission." Holley said into her radio. "They've got Finn. Get out of there. Get out of there right now." Holley gasped.

"How is your grandfather?" A cruel, deep voice asked right before the line went dead.

Suddenly there was a lot of noise and I saw Mater suddenly appear on the balcony. A huge orange parachute appeared out of his back, right behind the coil of his tow cable. The wind caught the chute and carried him off the balcony and into the air.

"Mater!" I gasped and sped off to the most likely place he would go. I arrived the same time he did.

"Let me through! Let me through!" Mater called, panicked, as he skidded to a halt in front of the gate to the media entrance. "You gotta let me in! I gotta get through to warn McQueen!"

"You cannot-a come through here!" one of the security cars at the gate snapped. "Back up, signore."

"We have a lunatic at Gate 9." The second security car said. I took one look to see Mater had several strange items attached to him, giving him quite the image of a lunatic.

"No, Listen!" Mater pleaded. "I was disguised as a tow truck to inflitrate this lemonhead meetin' and my weapons system's done misinterperated what I'm sayin'!"

I grabbed Mater's side mirror.

Mater looked past the gates. "McQueen! McQueen!" He continued calling, suddenly darting around the security cars and speeding towards the press surrounding McQueen, all his decorations dropping off. "McQueen!" Mater shouted, desperately trying to see his friend through the crowd. "McQueen! They're gonna kill you! McQueen! McQueen!"

"Mater!" Lightning called, eyeing the rusted tow hook at the back of the crowd.

"McQueen!" Mater called.

I let go of Mater's mirror and looked for McQueen among the crowed. I could hear him but not see him. I did not even notice that I had moved away from Mater a bit.

"Mater! Mater!" Lightning cried happily. "Mater, I'm so glad to see you. I'm so sorry—"

"Lightning McQueen!" Ivan the tow truck cried excitedly. "I am a huge fan!"

Lightning shrunk down a bit, surprised to see someone other than his friend. I glanced around for Mater and move out of sight of the crowd. Suddenly an arm wrapped around me pinning my arms to my side. Before I could struggle or yell the person who had caught me pulled a cloth over my mouth to muffle any noise I made. Or so I thought. The cloth smelt funny and as soon as I breathed the smell in I felt drowsy before blacking out completely.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Saved by the Bomb

BONG, BONG, BONG.

I blinked and opened my eyes, wishing the defining noise would stop. Glancing around I discovered I was tied to some kind of side rail and sitting in an unconfutable position on a walk way. Glancing around I saw Mater had woke from unconsciousness to the near-deafening sound of a bell being struck. He looked around to discover he hung from a rod above him. Mater caught sight of Finn and Holley, the two cars tied to a giant gear.

"Holley! Finn!" Mater called. "Where are we?"

"We're in London, Mater." Finn replied. "Inside Big Bentley."

Well, that certainly explained the giant gears and mechanisms. Mater cried out in surprise when he suddenly dropped, the clock's gears lowering him several meters down before jerking to a halt. Mater gulped a bit at the sight of the twisting and turning gears below him. The giant, powerful gears spelled certain doom with a capital D. The giant gear Finn and Holley were tied to gave a turn, bringing them closer to an intersecting gear that would crush them.

Mater groaned a bit. "Oh, this...this is all my fault."

"Don't be a fool, Mater." Finn scolded.

"But I am, remember?" Mater protested. "You said so."

"When did I—?" Finn paused, remembering what he said to Mater before the truck went into the lemon meeting. "Oh. Mater, I was complimenting you on what a good spy you are."

No sooner had he finished that sentence did Mater suddenly shout, angrily, "I'M NOT A SPY!"

It was silent for a moment, Mater's shout echoing throughout the clock.

Mater slumped down in defeat. "I've been tryin' ta tell you that the whole time. I really am just a tow truck."

"And I'm just a teenager" I added. " Never been a spy."

"Finn, he's not joking." Holley said.

Finn sighed silently. "I know."

"You were right, Finn." Mater said. "I'm a fool. And what's happened to McQueen is 'cause I'm such a big one. This is all my fault."

"No, it's mine." Finn said. "I'm the fool, Mater, for dragging you and Andrew into all this."

"It's all our own faults" I argued.

"We see that you're awake!"

We turned to see Grem and Acer arrive on an elevator.

"Now sit back and relax." Grem said. "Professor Z wanted you to have a front-row seat for the death of Lightning McQueen."

"He's still alive?" Mater asked, surprised.

"Not for much longer." Acer laughed. Grem pushed the disguised camera out a panel opened in the clock face, aiming it towards the track where the racers would come by. Mater yelped when he was suddenly lowered once more towards the gears, Finn and Holley also getting closer to the gears that would crush them.

"Here he comes." Grem announced, focusing the camera on the racetrack.

Lightning was coming up fast, and Grem was powering up the camera to full strength. I shut my eyes and looked down waiting to hear an explosion and the sound of screaming. But it never came. There was a roar of engines as Lightning sped away, unharmed.

"I don't know, Professor." Grem said into his radio.

"What did you do?" Acer demanded.

"I didn't do nothing!" Grem snapped. "Ssh, I'm talkin' to the Professor. What's that, Professor Z?"

"You broke it!" Acer groaned.

"Quiet!" Grem snapped. He listened into his radio for a moment. "I understand, sir. Yes."

"What did he say?" Acer asked.

"We go to the backup plan." Grem reported.

"Backup plan?" Mater asked.

"We snuck a bomb in McQueen's pit." Grem informed the tow truck smirking.

"The next time he makes a stop, instead of saying 'ka-chow', he's gonna go 'ka-boom!'" Acer and Grem laughed, earning a glare from Mater.

"Don't feel bad, tow truck." Grem said. "You couldn't have saved him."

"Oh, wait. You could have!" Acer corrected, the two laughing again.

"Dad gum lemons!" Mater growled.

"Request acknowledged." The computer said, attempting to unload Mater's gatling guns. But when he tried to fire, he found nothing came from the guns.

"What?" Grem taunted. "You didn't think we'd take your bullets?"

Mater still glared but then he caught sight of the ropes around his guns a bit frayed from the friction. He quickly hid his smile.

"That's right!" Acer cackled. "You got nothin'!"

"Who's the lemon now, huh?" Grem laughed as he and Acer rode the elevator back down to the first floor hitting me with his tyre as he went past. "Enjoy watchin' your friends die kid!"

"Nice try, Mater." Finn said.

Mater wasn't done trying to escape. "Dad gum!" His guns attempted to roll out, only to be stopped by the ropes. But the twisting of the guns began to rub against the ropes and fray them. "Dad gum! Dad gum! Dad gum!" Mater repeated until the ropes snapped, sending him down to the gears.

"Mater!" Holley cried. But Mater managed to jump across the moving gears and land on the platforms safely.

"I gotta get y'all out of there!" Mater called, searching for a way to help Finn and Holley.

"There's no time!" Finn called. "McQueen needs your help, Mater."

"But I can't!" Mater protested. "I'm just a tow truck!"

"It's up to you!" Finn urged. "Go to the pits and get everyone out. You can do that!"

"What about you guys?" Mater asked worriedly.

"We'll be okay!" Finn assured.

"Go and get some more dents, Mater." Holley encouraged.

"We'll be fine" I told him.

Mater's eyes settled into a determined glare, and he took off for the elevator and disappeared.

Holley glanced back towards Finn. "So, we'll be okay? Really?"

"He wouldn't have left if I'd told him the truth." Finn said regrettably. He grunted when the gear turned again. There was only one turn left before they were crushed. "Being killed by a clock." He chuckled. "Gives a whole new meaning to 'Your time has come.'"

"Time?" Holley blinked, looking around before spying a piece of electric machinery nearby, the machine rotating a large rod that operated the whole clock. "That's it!" She moved her wheel over just enough to pull her taser from her hubcap. She launched the wires, but they fell short and she reeled them in again.

"What're you doing?" Finn asked.

"Trying to turn back time." Holley launched the wires of her taser, but they fell just a few inches away. The gear suddenly turned, the interlocking gear pressing painfully against Finn and Holley.

Holley took aim, despite the pain in her roof. "If I can just reverse the polarity." She fired one last time, and this time the taser hooks hit their mark. The resulting shock caused the gears to jerk to a halt and then go backwards, pulling Holley and Finn away from their deaths.

"Good job!" Finn complimented. "Quick thinking, Holley!" The two cars began struggling a bit against their bonds.

Holley caught sight of yet another gear, this one with spokes much sharper. "Oh no."

"Drive!" Finn called.

Finn and Holley drove forward with all their strength, the gear cutting through the ropes setting them free. The spy cars hit the platforms along the edge of the tower.

Thinking fast I activated my curse mark and formed an ice blade and used it to cut myself free then untied my ankles.

"We've got to get to the course." Finn urged. "Calculate the fastest way to—"

Holley was way ahead of him, a pair of wings appearing on either side of her along with a tailfin. "Done!"

Finn blinked. "Oh! Miss Shiftwell."

"They're standard issue, now." Holley said with a smirk.

"You kids get all the good hardware." Finn said, a twinge of jealousy in his voice.

We moved to hurry off, but suddenly skidded to a halt at the sight of an air filter on the ground. Written on tape stuck to the filter was "If lost return to Mater."

"Oh no, that's Mater's." Holley groaned.

"I knew his escape was too easy." Finn said.

Finn unleashed one of his back grappling hooks grabbing me and dragged me behind him. Holley activated her jets and shot out the window of the clock, flying off. Finn sped down the streets dragging me behind him.

* * *

"Mater!" Finn's voice called over Mater's radio.

"Finn, you're okay!" Mater sounded relieved.

"Listen to me!" Finn cried urgently. "The bomb is on you! They knew you'd try to help McQueen! When we were knocked out they planted it in your air filter!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Zündapp was furiously trying to set off the bomb, slamming his tire on the detonator button several times angrily. But Mater was now so far out of range the signal would never reach him. The German car growled, but suddenly caught sight of a purple mass floating right before the window he stood at. He gasped as Holley, now hovering in middair, glared back at him. She unloaded her pistols from her hubcaps, but Zündapp suddenly screamed in terror and smashed his way out another window. He landed in a balloon-like structure and made his way to the ground, speeding off as fast as his tires could carry him.

Finn caught sight of Zündapp as he began making a run for it. "Holley, we'll get Zündapp! You help Mater!"

"Got it!" Holley called, flying off to find him.

Finn shot into the streets of London with me in tow. But when we looked ahead, Zündapp disappeared in the crowd. He was heading towards the harbor near the Tyre Bridge.

We followed. As we approached the Tyre Bridge we caught sight of Zündapp zooming underneath the bridge, heading straight towards an armored carrier sitting in the water nearby. Finn pushed himself up, leaping over the railing of the bridge and landing behind Zündapp. He kept up his pace, shooting his front two grappling hooks and catching them onto Zündapp's bumper. Finn shifted gears quickly, reversing with just enough power to stop the professor before jerking him backwards.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you float away, Professor?" Finn growled, dragging Zündapp backwards.

But a strong force suddenly began pulling Zündapp and Finn forward, despite the Finn's best attempts to reverse backwards. His tires squealed and smoke billowed out, but he soon discovered why he and Zündapp were being pulled forward: the armored carrier's magnet trained on them. Finn desperately kept his back wheels spinning, his front wheels he used to try and push himself backwards. But the magnet's strength managed to pull him forward still. Finn unloaded his guns, unsure if they'd still be loaded or not, but the magnet was so strong it ended up tearing the weapons off him. It even took the last of his missiles when he tried to fire those and Zündapp's monocle. The armored carrier's large gun suddenly raised from the bow of the carrier, the targeting laser placed right at Finn's hood. The carrier fired a blast, forcing us to jump to avoid it. We were forced to do it again as another blast incinerated the stone he landed on. But he kept his hooks onto Zündapp.

"Give it up, McMissile!" Zündapp shouted.

Finn's mind raced, and when he saw his tires he got an idea. He opened up the panel in his hubcaps to release the magnetic explosives, allowing the carrier's magnet to take whatever he had left. The carrier looked to see the magnetic explosives blinking rapidly, and his eyes widened.

KA-BOOM!

"AWSOME" I yelled.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Solving the Mission

When we saw Holley she was scanning the bomb on Mater to analyse it. "Mater, we've got to get that bomb off you."

"Bomb?" Lightning asked, staring in shock and confusion. He finally caught sight of the explosive attached to his best friend.

"Yeah, they strapped it to me to kill you as a backup plan." Mater explained.

"Backup plan?" Lightning asked, even more confused. "Mater, who put a bomb on you?"

"I bet you anything he did!"

Everyone glanced up to see Finn finally managed to shove a now-tied up Zündapp forward.

Zündapp saw Lightning and glared. "You!" Why didn't my death ray kill you?!"

"Death ray?!" Lightning repeated, looking us for an explanation.

"Turn off the bomb, Zündapp!" Finn ordered.

"Are you all so dense?" Zündapp droned. "Its voice activated. Everything is voice activated these days."

"Deactivate! Deactivate!" Mater cried hurriedly.

The remote on the bomb buzzed. "Voice denied." A timer suddenly appeared, giving Mater only five minutes before the bomb went off.

"Oops." Zündapp said with fake sheepishness. "Did I forget to mention that it can only be disarmed by the one who activated it?"

Holley rolled up, taser armed. "Say it."

"Deactivate." Zündapp replied without hesitation but the remote said "Voice denied" and lopped a full minute off the timer. "I'm not the one who activated it." Zündapp sneered. "Would anyone else like to try?" He convulsed into spasms as Holley tazed him, sending him collapsing to the ground.

"You read my mind." Finn smirked.

"He was getting on my nerves." Holley groaned as she put the taser away.

"What do we do?" Lightning asked worriedly.

Before anyone could suggest anything, a voice said. "It's very simple. You blow up." Spinning around, the we found every roadway blocked by the Pacer, Hugo, Trunkov, and Gremlin family heads along with their henchmen. Even Ivan the tow truck along with several human guards.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here. These are the guys that want me dead, correct?" Lightning asked as we backed up.

"It's nothing personal." Trunkov said, as though it would make Lightning feel better about getting killed.

"Fellers, listen." Mater called suddenly. "I know what yer goin' through. Everybody's been laughin' at me my whole life too. But becomin' powerful and rich beyond your wildest dreams ain't gonna make you feel better."

The lemons seemed to seriously consider Mater's words for a brief moment before Gremlin smirked. "Yeah, but it's worth a shot." He unloaded his gun.

Suddenly, a powerful stream of water washed away several of the Gremlin cars, sending their boss into the bushes.

We caught sight of Red and Sally. Four of the lemons tried to surround Finn, but he launched his grappling hooks and pulled them all together in a collision. Holley reversed from two of the lemons coming towards her, activating her jet mode and smashing two more cars into her attackers. I formed ice blades and swiped at some humans. A couple lemons lunged for us but suddenly found their wheels falling off.

"Peet stop." Guido huffed triumphantly.

Flo approached the Trunkov and flashed her headlights, blinding him long enough for Sheriff to slap a parking boot on him like he did with many of the other lemons. Ivan lunged for Lightning, but Mater shot forward and knocked the blue tow truck aside. He swung around and smacked two lemon henchmen away as they approached. Mater gave a mighty yell and hooked his tow cable under the lead Pacer's jaw, throwing him aside and towards Ramone. The Impala slashed his paint can across the Pacer, leaving a trail of purple paint across the smaller car's windshield and hood. The remaining lemons stared in shock at their opponents: the spies, a police sheriff, and pretty much the entire town of Radiator Springs all ready to pound them into a pulp.

"Retreat!" Pacer shouted, encouraging the remaining lemons to speed away down the road. But they skidded to a halt when they rounded the corner and discovered a small army of British military vehicles in their path, complete with helicopters and all of them training their weapons on the evil cars.

"Thanks for the help, Corporal." Sarge told one of the vehicles beside him.

"Anything for one of Pop's mates." The British military vehicle replied.

Everyone watched anxiously as the clock continued to tick down on the bomb. The timer read 2:39 already. Mater stood in the middle of the intersection with Luigi, Guido, Lightning, and me while everyone else stayed behind risers a safe distance away. Guido had been working on that for a while, but when he tried to unscrew the bolts his drill made a strange grinding sound. He glared at the tool for a moment before shouting in Italian and throwing it down, kicking it aside as he drove off with crossed forks.

"What's he saying?" Lightning asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"None of his wrenches fit the bolts." Luigi replied sadly. If wecouldn't get that bomb off, Mater was going to die.

"I get it." Mater said. "I get it! I know what needs ta be done."

"Then do it!" Lightning urged.

"What? No, I can't do it. Look, nobody takes me seriously." Mater protested. "I know that now. This ain't Radiator Springs."

"Yes, it is." Lightning said firmly, with a warm smile on his face. "Look, you're yourself in Radiator Springs. Be yourself here. And if people aren't taking you seriously, then they need to change, not you. I know that because I was wrong before. Now, you can do this. You're the bomb."

"Thanks, buddy." Mater said with a smile.

"No, no, no, you're the actual bomb!" Lightning reminded him. "Now let's go!"

"Oh, right!" Mater swung his tow cable around, hooking under Lightning's front axle. "Hang on! Andrew let's go!"

I nodded and jumped into Mater's flatbed. Mater drove off, dragging McQueen behind him as he smashed his way through the risers.

Finn blinked in surprise. "Where's he going?"

Mater stared straight ahead with a determined glare. "Computer!"

"Yes, Agent Mater?"

"I need that thing you done before to git me away from McQueen!" Mater said.

"Request acknowledged."

Mater's rockets activated again, propelling him along much faster than before. Lightning looked ahead to see they were shooting right towards a building. "Mater?" Lightning called worriedly.

"Now I need you to do the chute!" Mater told the computer. "The second kind, not the first!"

"Deploying chute."

A bright orange parachute shot up, carrying Mater, Lightning, and I high into the air. Mater managed to steer himself through the air, flying over buildings and avoiding towers.

Mater finally touched down at the platform before the Queen of England herself and the rest of the audience before the race course. His rockets and chute disappeared just as the guards rolled forward and began barking at us to stay back.

"It's Lightning McQueen!" the Queen said excitedly. The guards continued shouting.

"No, no, no, it's okay!" Lightning assured as he rolled in front of his friend. "Tell 'em, guys. Explain."

"Okay." Mater nodded. "Somebody's been sabotagin' the racers and hurtin' the cars, and I know who. Oh, wait. Yer Majesty." He gave a gracious bow, only to reveal the bomb still strapped to him.

"Bomb!" one of the guards shouted, the rest of the black Range Rovers unloaded their pistols. Their shouts caused instant mass panic as most of the spectators near the track suddenly took off. The Radiator Springs' residents, finally catching up, stood on the race track and watched in shock and concern.

"Hold your fire!" Finn suddenly shouted as he screeched to a halt on the stage. "He can't disarm it! Mater, I don't know what you're doing, but stand down now!" Holley approached, standing behind the police cars and staring at the scene with wide eyes.

"This ain't nothin' at all like Radiator Springs." Mater told Lightning as the police surrounded them.

"Mater, just cut to the chase." Lightning urged.

"Okay." Mater nodded. "It's him." He pointed to Miles Axlerod, still on the stage.

"Good" I grinned. "Let's me have five minutes with 'im."

"What? Me?" Miles chuckled. "You've got to be crazy."

"I figured it out when I realized y'all attached this ticking time bomb with Whitworth bolts – the same bolts that hold together that old British engine from the photograph." Mater explained. "Holley! Show that picture!"

"Okay." Though confused, Holley rolled forward and pulled up the engine picture on her computer.

"And then I remembered what they say about old British engines: if there ain't no oil under 'em, there ain't no oil in 'em." Mater said.

"What is he talking about?" Miles demanded.

"It was you leaking oil at the party in Japan." Mater declared, him and me beginning to roll closer to Miles. "You just blamed it on me."

"Electric cars don't use oil, you twit." Miles snapped.

"Then yer fakin' it." Mater reasoned. "You didn't convert to no electric. If we pop that hood, we gonna see that engine from that picture right there."

"Can I pound him now?" I asked

"This lorry's crazy!" Miles shouted to the police. "He's gonna kill us all!" He stopped when one of his back tires hit open air, and he realized with a start he had backed up to the edge of the platform. "Stay away!" He growled at us.

"But Sir Miles created the race, Mater." Holley protested. "Why would he want to hurt anyone?"

"To make allinol look bad so everybody'd go back to usin' oil." Mater said. "I mean he said it himself with that dee-sguised voice."

"'Dee-sguised voice'?" Miles scoffed. What are you talking about?" You're nuts, you are!"

"This is going nowhere fast." Prince Wheeliam said to the Queen. "We really should go, Grandmother."

"One moment." The monarch replied. "I'd like to see where this is going."

The timer only had thirty seconds left.

"Mater, he created allinol." Finn protested.

"And what if he found that huge oil field just as the world was tryin' ta find somethin' else?" Mater added, glaring at Miles. "What if he came up with allinol just to make alternative fuel look bad?"

18 seconds.

"'What if?'" Miles growled, his escape route blocked by the tow truck. "You're basing this on a 'what if'?"

"Okay, that's it!" One of the guards began ordering everyone out, escorting the rest of the civilians and the royalty to safety. Only Lightning, Holley, Finn and me stayed in our spots, staring at the confrontation between Miles and Mater.

"Wait, somebody save me!" Miles shouted. "The lorry's crazy! Keep away, you idiots!"

"Mater!" Finn called warningly.

8 seconds.

"Mater!" Holley cried worriedly. Lightning stared with wide eyes.

"Someone do something!" Miles shouted in desperation.

5 seconds.

4 seconds.

"You're insane, you are!" Miles shouted at Mater.

3

Everyone else braced for the explosion.

2

"Deactivate!" Miles screamed.

Just as the timer hit 1, the remote beeped. "Bomb deactivated. Have a nice day, Sir Miles Axlerod :)."

Mater smirked proudly, seeming to enjoy Miles hyperventilating as two police cars pulled up on either side of him. Mater swung his tow hook around and caught the edge of Miles' hood, pulling it up to reveal an old engine underneath.

"The engine from the photo." Finn confirmed.

"It's a perfect match." Holley agreed.

"How did the tow truck figure it out?" Miles scoffed.

"Because he's smarter then you think." I said. "Can I pound him now?"

"It's official." Lighting smiled as he approached Mater. "You're coming to all my races from now on."

"Now yer talkin'!" Mater smiled broadly the two of them bumping tires.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Forever Friends

Mater made the funniest and wildest faces he could muster, but the guard he stood before was just as stoic as ever. I was laughing at Mater's attempts to make them move.

"Let's go." Lightning encouraged with a chuckle. "You're on." The three of us rolled through the large double doors of the palace hall, passing by an entire crowd of spectators that included Finn, Holley, and all of the Radiator Springs' folks.

"Your Majesty," a Duke at the head of the room announced. "May I present for the investiture of honorary knighthood of the British Realm Tow Mater and Andrew Skype of Radiator Springs."

"Go get 'em, guys." Lightning encouraged, standing with the rest of the Radiator Springs' residents. Mater and I rolled up to the front of the room, standing before the Queen of England herself, and bowed respectfully.

The Queen rolled up a long antennae from her fender, tapping it on Mater's fenders and my shoulders. "I hereby dub thee Sir Tow Mater and Sir Andrew Skype." Cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Sir? Shoot, you can just call me Mater, Yer Majesty." Mater told the Queen. "I don't wanna hear none of this 'sir' business."

"And just Andrew, for me." I said.

"By the way, have y'all met each other?" Mater rolled back as Lightning came forward. "The Queen, McQueen. McQueen, the Queen. McQueen, McMissile. McMissile, McQueen. The Queen, McMissile."

* * *

When everyone returned home, Ramone repainted the sign outside of town to read "Welcome to Raditator Springs...Home of Lightning McQueen and Sir Tow Mater and Sir Andrew Skype" along with pictures of Mater and me. Life seemed to go back to normal after the trip, with the exception of Mater's stories from the mission. Whether or not people actually believed them was a whole other story.

"So there we was, my rocket jet goin' full blast, McQueen hanging on fer dear life when suddenly them two nasty lemons come out of nowheres, guns drawed!" Mater told the crowd around him. "We was goners! But then, out of nowhere this beautiful spy car swoops in from the sky to save us!"

"That's a very entertaining story, young man." A lavender minivan told the Mater.

"Oh, Minny, please!" her husband rolled his eyes. "Come on! None of this happened. Rocket jets, flying spy cars—"

"No, you're quite right!" Everyone jumped and looked up to see a purple Jaguar flying in and landing on the street outside the café. "It does sound a bit far-fetched." Holley said as she deactivated her jet mode.

"Holley!" Mater greeted warmly. "What're you doin' here?"

"Hello, Mater!" Holley greeted warmly. "It's so good to see you again."

A familiar Aston Martin drove up beside Holley.

"Finn!" Mater greeted. "Not that we aren't glad to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"Our satellites picked up an urgent communiqué." Finn explained.

"So you got-a my email." Luigi piped up.

"Ah man, y'all is goin' ta have a great time!" Mater said excitedly. "Everybody! This here's Finn McMissile. He's a secret agent. Don't tell nobody! And this is Holley Shiftwell." Mater turned to the Holley. "She's—"

"I'm Mater's girlfriend. It's so nice to meet you all." Holley interrupted with a smile, her proclamation making everyone stare in shock while Mater just smiled broadly.

Guido's forks dropped to the ground in astonishment. "Guido believe you now." Luigi said.

"Whoa, honey!" Flo eyed a caved in part of Holley's back fender. "You got a nasty dent there."

"Yeah." Holley smiled albeit sheepishly.

"Was that from when you swooped in and you saved them in London?" Van asked.

"Van." Minny scolded with a smile.

"What?" Van shrugged. "I'm just asking!"

"Don't you worry, sweet pea." Flo assured. "My baby Ramone can get that fixed up for ya in no time."

"Yeah, sure thing, man." Ramone nodded. "No problemo. Just let me go get my tools."

"Oh, no. I'm keeping that dent." Holley said, looking to Mater. "It's way too valuable."

"A valuable dent?" Lizzie exclaimed. "She's as crazy as Mater."

"Those two are perfect for each other." Mack agreed.

"You know, there's one thing I still don't get." Lightning piped up. "The bad guys hit me with the beam from the camera, right? So, why didn't I, you know..."

"Explode in a fiery inferno?" Mater asked.

"Yeah." Lightning nodded.

"We couldn't figure that one out, either." Finn admitted.

"Our investigation proved that allinol was actually gasoline, and Axlerod engineered it so when it got hit by the beam, it would explode." Holley explained.

Lightning realized something. "Wait a second, Fillmore. You said my fuel was safe." Everyone turned to stare at the Volkswagen van.

Fillmore glanced around at everyone staring at him. "If you're implying that I switched out that rot-gut excuse for alternative fuel with my all-natural, sustainable, organic biofuel just because I never trusted Axlerod, you're dead wrong, man." He grinned as he gestured to Sarge beside him. "It was him."

Sarge glanced at everyone. "Once big oil, always big oil...man."

"Tree hugger." Fillmore teased.

* * *

Later on everyone gathered around the race track made up of Route 66 and the town's street. Since the World Grand Prix turned out to be a scam, Lightning invited the racers to particpate in a recreational race he dubbed the Radiator Springs Grand Prix. Francesco ended up enjoying the idea, for once agreeing with Lightning on something: no press, no trophy, just racing. He even got a chance to meet Sally, and caught sight of a sticker Lightning made that read "Ka-Ciao, Francesco." Though the two racecars made their jibes, it was clear a sort of subtle friendship bond must have formed between them.

Soon, the racers were taking off across the roads. The Radiator Springs' residents joined the spectators at Willie's Butte, cheering for Lightning as he and the racers passed. Me, Mater, Finn and Holley were off to one side, watching the race.

Holley heard her commuincator beep. "Finn? Siddeley's gassed, geared, and ready to fly."

Finn looked back to discover the jet had landed just several hundred feet away.

"Yer leavin' already?" Mater asked, a bit sad.

"We've got another mission, Mater." Finn explained. "Just stopped by here to pick something up." He cast looks to me and Mater.

"Somethin' tells me yer not talkin' about souvenir bumper stickers." Mater guessed.

"Her Majesty asked for you two personally." Finn told us.

"But I told y'all before." Mater reminded them. "We're not spies."

"We know." Holley assured.

"Spies or not, the two of you are still the smartest, most honest chaps we've ever met." Finn said.

"Don't forget massively charming." Holley said, looking to Mater causing me to roll my eyes.

"Well, thanks." Mater said. "But as much fun as it was hangin' with y'all, this..." He looked to his Radiator Springs family. "...this is home."

"That's all right." Holley assured. "We understand. But I'll be back. You still owe me that first date, Mater."

"You are going to cop it from me later Mater" I told him.

"If there's ever anything I can do for you two, just let me know." Finn told Mater and me.

"Well, I sure appreciate that. Thank you." Mater nodded. "Actually, there is one thing."

"Uh oh." I rolled my eyes.

"Whoo-hoo!" Mater laughed as he rocketed down the road to catch up with the racers. His rocket boosters were on full blast as he snagged Otis from the side of the road and dropped him off at Ramone's. I whooped and laughed from my spot in Mater's flatbed, hanging onto his roof as he sped along. Soon enough, we were able to catch up to Lightning on the road.

"Mater!" Lightning blinked in surprise, a wide smile on his face. "How are you—?"

"They let me keep the rockets!" Mater replied, showing the said rockets to Lightning.

"I'll see you at the finish line, buddy!" Lightning said, speeding up.

"Not if I see you first!" Mater whooped as he sped up, keeping side-by-side with Lightning as they raced through Route 66.

I looked up to see Siddeley flying off, taking our spy friends with him. Come back soon guys.

THE END

* * *

 **Yay. Last chapter.**


End file.
